Nehemiah 2:3

KJV1611 – Modern English

And said to the king, Let the king live forever. Why should my face not be sad, when the city, the place of my fathers' tombs, lies waste, and its gates are consumed with fire?

Additional Resources

Other Translations

  • Linguistic Bible Translation from Source Texts

    But I said to the king, "May the king live forever! Why should my face not be sad when the city where my ancestors are buried lies in ruins and its gates have been destroyed by fire?"

  • King James Version 1769 (Standard Version)

    And said unto the king, Let the king live for ever: why should not my countenance be sad, when the city, the place of my fathers' sepulchres, lieth waste, and the gates thereof are consumed with fire?

  • American Standard Version with Strong's Numbers

    And I said{H559} unto the king,{H4428} Let the king{H4428} live{H2421} for ever:{H5769} why should not my countenance{H6440} be sad,{H3415} when the city,{H5892} the place{H1004} of my fathers'{H1} sepulchres,{H6913} lieth waste,{H2720} and the gates{H8179} thereof are consumed{H398} with fire?{H784}

  • King James Version with Strong's Numbers

    And said{H559}{(H8799)} unto the king{H4428}, Let the king{H4428} live{H2421}{(H8799)} for ever{H5769}: why should not my countenance{H6440} be sad{H3415}{(H8799)}, when the city{H5892}, the place{H1004} of my fathers{H1}' sepulchres{H6913}, lieth waste{H2720}, and the gates{H8179} thereof are consumed{H398}{(H8795)} with fire{H784}?

  • Coverdale Bible (1535)

    & sayde vnto the kynge: God saue the kynges life for euer, shulde I not loke sadly? the cite of my fathers buryall lyeth wayest, & the portes therof are consumed wt the fyre.

  • Geneva Bible (1560)

    And I said to the King, God saue the King for euer: why should not my countenance be sad, when the citie & house of the sepulchres of my fathers lieth waste, and the gates thereof are deuoured with fire?

  • Bishops' Bible (1568)

    And sayde vnto the king, God saue the king for euer: Howe shoulde I not loke sadly, when the citie and place of my fathers burials lye waste, and the gates therof are consumed with fire?

  • Authorized King James Version (1611)

    And said unto the king, Let the king live for ever: why should not my countenance be sad, when the city, the place of my fathers' sepulchres, [lieth] waste, and the gates thereof are consumed with fire?

  • Webster's Bible (1833)

    I said to the king, Let the king live forever: why should not my face be sad, when the city, the place of my fathers' tombs, lies waste, and the gates of it are consumed with fire?

  • Young's Literal Translation (1862/1898)

    and say to the king, `Let the king to the age live! wherefore should not my face be sad, when the city, the place of the graves of my fathers, `is' a waste, and its gates have been consumed with fire?'

  • American Standard Version (1901)

    And I said unto the king, Let the king live for ever: why should not my countenance be sad, when the city, the place of my fathers' sepulchres, lieth waste, and the gates thereof are consumed with fire?

  • American Standard Version (1901)

    And I said unto the king, Let the king live for ever: why should not my countenance be sad, when the city, the place of my fathers' sepulchres, lieth waste, and the gates thereof are consumed with fire?

  • Bible in Basic English (1941)

    And said to the king, May the king be living for ever: is it not natural for my face to be sad, when the town, the place where the bodies of my fathers are at rest, has been made waste and its doorways burned with fire?

  • World English Bible (2000)

    I said to the king, "Let the king live forever! Why shouldn't my face be sad, when the city, the place of my fathers' tombs, lies waste, and its gates have been consumed with fire?"

  • NET Bible® (New English Translation)

    I replied to the king,“O king, live forever! Why would I not appear dejected when the city with the graves of my ancestors lies desolate and its gates destroyed by fire?”

Referenced Verses

  • Neh 1:3 : 3 And they said to me, The remnant that are left of the captivity there in the province are in great affliction and reproach: the wall of Jerusalem also is broken down, and its gates are burned with fire.
  • 1 Kgs 1:31 : 31 Then Bathsheba bowed with her face to the earth, and did reverence to the king, and said, Let my lord King David live forever.
  • Dan 2:4 : 4 Then the Chaldeans spoke to the king in Aramaic, O king, live forever: tell your servants the dream, and we will show the interpretation.
  • Dan 5:10 : 10 Now the queen, because of the words of the king and his lords, came into the banquet hall. The queen spoke and said, "O king, live forever! Let not your thoughts trouble you, nor let your face be changed.
  • Ps 137:6 : 6 If I do not remember you, let my tongue cling to the roof of my mouth; if I do not prefer Jerusalem above my chief joy.
  • 2 Chr 21:20 : 20 He was thirty-two years old when he began to reign, and he reigned in Jerusalem for eight years and departed without being missed. However, they buried him in the city of David, but not in the tombs of the kings.
  • 2 Chr 28:27 : 27 And Ahaz slept with his fathers, and they buried him in the city, even in Jerusalem, but they did not bring him into the tombs of the kings of Israel, and Hezekiah his son reigned in his place.
  • 2 Chr 32:33 : 33 Hezekiah rested with his fathers, and they buried him in the most honored of the tombs of the sons of David, and all Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem honored him at his death. And Manasseh his son reigned in his place.
  • Dan 6:6 : 6 Then these presidents and princes assembled together to the king, and said thus to him, King Darius, live forever.
  • Dan 6:21 : 21 Then Daniel said to the king, O king, live forever.
  • Dan 3:9 : 9 They spoke and said to King Nebuchadnezzar, O king, live forever.
  • Lam 2:9 : 9 Her gates have sunk into the ground; He has destroyed and broken her bars: her king and her princes are among the Gentiles: the law is no more; her prophets also find no vision from the Lord.
  • Ps 102:14 : 14 For your servants take pleasure in her stones and favor the dust thereof.

Similar Verses (AI)

These verses are found using AI-powered semantic similarity based on meaning and context. Results may occasionally include unexpected connections.

  • Neh 2:1-2
    2 verses
    85%

    1 And it came to pass in the month of Nisan, in the twentieth year of King Artaxerxes, that wine was before him, and I took the wine and gave it to the king. Now I had not been sad in his presence previously.

    2 Therefore the king said to me, Why is your face sad, since you are not sick? This is nothing but sorrow of heart. Then I was very much afraid,

  • Neh 2:4-11
    8 verses
    80%

    4 Then the king said to me, What do you request? So I prayed to the God of heaven.

    5 And I said to the king, If it pleases the king, and if your servant has found favor in your sight, that you would send me to Judah, to the city of my fathers' tombs, that I may rebuild it.

    6 And the king said to me, (the queen also sitting beside him,) How long will your journey be? And when will you return? So it pleased the king to send me; and I set him a time.

    7 Moreover, I said to the king, If it pleases the king, let letters be given to me for the governors beyond the river, that they may allow me to pass through until I come to Judah;

    8 And a letter to Asaph, the keeper of the king's forest, that he may give me timber to make beams for the gates of the palace which pertain to the house, and for the wall of the city, and for the house that I shall enter. And the king granted me, according to the good hand of my God upon me.

    9 Then I went to the governors beyond the river, and gave them the king's letters. Now the king had sent captains of the army and horsemen with me.

    10 When Sanballat the Horonite, and Tobiah the servant, the Ammonite, heard of it, it grieved them exceedingly that a man had come to seek the welfare of the children of Israel.

    11 So I came to Jerusalem, and was there three days.

  • Neh 1:2-5
    4 verses
    79%

    2 That Hanani, one of my brothers, came with certain men of Judah; and I asked them concerning the Jews who had escaped, who were left of the captivity, and concerning Jerusalem.

    3 And they said to me, The remnant that are left of the captivity there in the province are in great affliction and reproach: the wall of Jerusalem also is broken down, and its gates are burned with fire.

    4 And it happened, when I heard these words, that I sat down and wept, and mourned for days, and fasted, and prayed before the God of heaven,

    5 And said, I beg you, O LORD God of heaven, the great and awesome God, who keeps covenant and mercy for those that love Him and observe His commandments:

  • Neh 2:15-18
    4 verses
    76%

    15 Then I went up in the night by the brook, and viewed the wall, and turned back, and entered by the valley gate, and so returned.

    16 And the rulers did not know where I had gone, or what I had done; I had not yet told it to the Jews, the priests, the nobles, the rulers, or the rest who did the work.

    17 Then I said to them, You see the distress that we are in, how Jerusalem lies waste, and its gates are burned with fire. Come, let us build up the wall of Jerusalem, that we may no longer be a reproach.

    18 Then I told them of the hand of my God which was good upon me, and also the king's words that he had spoken to me. And they said, Let us rise up and build. So they strengthened their hands for this good work.

  • Ezra 4:12-16
    5 verses
    71%

    12 Be it known to the king, that the Jews who came up from you to us are come to Jerusalem, building the rebellious and the bad city, and have set up the walls and joined the foundations.

    13 Be it known now to the king, that, if this city is built, and the walls set up again, then they will not pay toll, tribute, and custom, and so you will harm the revenue of the kings.

    14 Now because we have maintenance from the king's palace, and it was not proper for us to see the king's dishonor, therefore we have sent and certified the king;

    15 That search may be made in the book of the records of your fathers: so you shall find in the book of the records, and know that this city is a rebellious city, and hurtful to kings and provinces, and that they have moved sedition within the same of old time: for which cause this city was destroyed.

    16 We certify the king that, if this city is built again, and the walls set up, by this means you will have no portion on this side of the river.

  • Ezra 7:27-28
    2 verses
    71%

    27 Blessed be the LORD God of our fathers, who has put such a thing as this in the king's heart, to beautify the house of the LORD which is in Jerusalem:

    28 And has extended mercy to me before the king, and his counselors, and before all the king's mighty princes. And I was strengthened as the hand of the LORD my God was upon me, and I gathered chief men from Israel to go up with me.

  • Dan 5:10
    70%

    10 Now the queen, because of the words of the king and his lords, came into the banquet hall. The queen spoke and said, "O king, live forever! Let not your thoughts trouble you, nor let your face be changed.

  • Esth 8:6
    69%

    6 For how can I endure to see the disaster that will come to my people? Or how can I endure to see the destruction of my family?

  • Ezra 9:9
    69%

    9 For we were bondservants, yet our God has not forsaken us in our bondage, but has extended mercy to us in the sight of the kings of Persia, to give us a reviving, to set up the house of our God, to repair its desolations, and to give us a wall in Judah and Jerusalem.

  • Jer 38:26
    69%

    26 Then you shall say to them, I presented my supplication before the king, that he would not cause me to return to Jonathan's house, to die there.

  • Ezra 5:8-9
    2 verses
    69%

    8 Be it known to the king, that we went into the province of Judea, to the house of the great God, which is being built with great stones, and timber is being laid in the walls, and this work is going on rapidly and prospers in their hands.

    9 Then we asked those elders and said to them, Who commanded you to build this house and to finish these walls?

  • Neh 2:13
    69%

    13 And I went out by night through the valley gate, even before the dragon well, and to the dung port, and viewed the walls of Jerusalem, which were broken down, and its gates were consumed with fire.

  • Neh 2:20
    69%

    20 Then I answered them and said to them, The God of heaven will prosper us; therefore we his servants will arise and build; but you have no portion, nor right, nor memorial in Jerusalem.

  • Neh 6:11
    68%

    11 And I said, Should a man like me flee? And who is there like me, who would go into the temple to save his life? I will not go in.

  • Dan 9:17-18
    2 verses
    68%

    17 Now therefore, O our God, hear the prayer of Your servant, and his supplications, and cause Your face to shine upon Your sanctuary that is desolate, for the Lord's sake.

    18 O my God, incline Your ear, and hear; open Your eyes, and behold our desolations, and the city which is called by Your name: for we do not present our supplications before You for our righteousness, but for Your great mercies.

  • Neh 13:6
    68%

    6 But all this time I was not in Jerusalem, for in the thirty-second year of Artaxerxes king of Babylon, I had come to the king. After some time, I obtained leave from the king,

  • Neh 1:11
    68%

    11 O Lord, I beg You, let now Your ear be attentive to the prayer of Your servant, and to the prayer of Your servants, who desire to fear Your name: and prosper, I pray You, Your servant this day, and grant him mercy in the sight of this man. For I was the king's cupbearer.

  • Neh 4:2
    68%

    2 And he spoke before his brethren and the army of Samaria, and said, What are these feeble Jews doing? Will they fortify themselves? Will they sacrifice? Will they finish in a day? Will they revive the stones from the heaps of rubbish that are burned?

  • Ezra 4:22
    67%

    22 Take heed now that you fail not to do this: why should damage grow to the hurt of the kings?

  • Zech 7:3
    67%

    3 And to speak to the priests who were in the house of the LORD of hosts, and to the prophets, saying, Should I weep in the fifth month, separating myself, as I have done these many years?

  • Ezra 3:12
    67%

    12 But many of the priests and Levites and heads of the fathers' houses, who were ancient men, that had seen the first house, when the foundation of this house was laid before their eyes, wept with a loud voice; and many shouted aloud for joy,

  • Ezra 8:22
    67%

    22 For I was ashamed to request from the king a band of soldiers and horsemen to protect us against the enemy on the way, because we had spoken to the king, saying, The hand of our God is upon all those for good who seek him; but his power and his wrath are against all who forsake him.

  • Ezra 7:23
    67%

    23 Whatever is commanded by the God of heaven, let it be diligently done for the house of the God of heaven: for why should there be wrath against the realm of the king and his sons?

  • Dan 3:9
    67%

    9 They spoke and said to King Nebuchadnezzar, O king, live forever.

  • Jer 37:20
    67%

    20 Therefore hear now, I pray you, O my lord the king: let my plea, I pray you, be accepted before you, that you do not cause me to return to the house of Jonathan the scribe, lest I die there.

  • Neh 7:4
    67%

    4 Now the city was large and spacious, but the people were few in it, and the houses were not built.

  • Ezra 5:12
    67%

    12 But after our fathers had provoked the God of heaven to anger, He gave them into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, the Chaldean, who destroyed this house and carried the people away to Babylon.

  • Ezek 24:19
    67%

    19 And the people said to me, Will you not tell us what these things mean to us, that you are doing so?

  • Ezra 6:7
    67%

    7 Let the work of this house of God alone; let the governor of the Jews and the elders of the Jews build this house of God in its place.